Mall Owner Sues Gap for Rent on CCP Virus-Shuttered Stores

Mall Owner Sues Gap for Rent on CCP Virus-Shuttered Stores
People walk past a store in Miami Beach, Fla., on June 16, 2015. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The Associated Press
6/4/2020
Updated:
6/4/2020

NEW YORK—Gap Inc. is being sued for refusing to pay rent for stores temporarily closed during the CCP virus pandemic.

Mall owner Simon Property Group said in a lawsuit filed this week that the clothing retailer owes three months of rent, totaling $65.9 million. Gap has more than 390 stores at Indianapolis-based Simon’s malls, including its namesake brand, Old Navy, and Banana Republic.

Foot Locker at Dadeland Mall in Miami, Fla., on Aug. 28, 2009. (Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images)
Foot Locker at Dadeland Mall in Miami, Fla., on Aug. 28, 2009. (Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images)
A pedestrian carries shopping bags from a GAP store in San Francisco, Calif., on Dec. 14, 2010. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
A pedestrian carries shopping bags from a GAP store in San Francisco, Calif., on Dec. 14, 2010. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Gap and other major retailers, including sneaker seller Foot Locker, have said they wouldn’t pay rent for stores that were forced to close due to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic. In April, Gap warned that it may be sued by its landlords and that a dispute could be costly and have “an uncertain outcome.”

San Francisco-based Gap did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

By Joseph Pisani
Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.